Method for managing an unallocated telephone number in a communication network, method for processing a request for allocating a telephone number, corresponding devices, item of communication equipment, system and computer programs

ABSTRACT

A method for managing an unallocated telephone number in a communication network, the telephone number being previously allocated to a user of the communication network until a suspension date. The method is implemented by an item of equipment of the network and includes: obtaining information relating to a call set-up request received by the communication network to the telephone number during an observation period of time subsequent to the suspension date; updating, according to the information relating to the call set-up request, information relating to an activity level of the telephone number in the communication network, the information relating to an activity level being representative of a number of requests to set-up a call to the telephone number received by the network for the given observation period and storing in a data table the information relating to an activity level of the telephone number in association with the telephone number.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

This application claims foreign priority to French Patent ApplicationNo. FR 2112932, entitled “METHOD FOR MANAGING AN UNALLOCATED TELEPHONENUMBER IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK, METHOD FOR PROCESSING A REQUEST FORALLOCATING A TELEPHONE NUMBER, CORRESPONDING DEVICES, ITEM OFCOMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAMS” and filed Dec. 3,2021, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND Field

The field of the development is that of a communication networkconfigured to route calls to telephone numbers allocated to terminalequipment, such as mobile phones. The development relates in particularto the management of telephone numbers previously allocated to users andtheir reallocation to other users of the communication network.

Description of Related Art

An operator of a communication network usually has a limited number oftelephone numbers to allocate to users subscribing to one of itstelephony services. Of all the telephone numbers reserved for thisoperator, some are actually allocated to users and used by the latter tocommunicate in the communication network, but others, unallocated, areheld in reserve for new subscribers or to respond to telephone numberchange requests from users already subscribed.

When an operator starts up a new communication network, all telephonenumbers are blank, that is without any previous usage history. As timegoes by and subscribers leave and arrive, previously allocated telephonenumbers are recycled. In general, when a user terminates theirsubscription with the communication network, their telephone number isdeallocated and placed in a suspended state for a given period of timebefore being reallocated to a new user. This suspension period isintended to prevent the new subscriber from receiving too many callsdestined for the previous subscriber. Typically, the operator sets arelatively long suspension period, for example six months.

One disadvantage is that the operator is deprived of this telephonenumber for the entire suspension period, but there is no guarantee thatit will not receive complaints from the new subscriber once thetelephone number has been reallocated. Indeed, the period during whichthis telephone number remains associated with the previous subscriber inlists of sales or fraudulent marketers can be even longer, as theselists are not updated regularly.

As a result, the current solution is not satisfactory for subscribersand is detrimental to the operator’s image.

The development improves the situation.

SUMMARY

The development responds to this need by proposing a method for managingat least one unallocated telephone number in a communication network,said telephone number being previously allocated to a user of thecommunication network until a given date, known as suspension date. Saidmethod is implemented by an item of equipment of the network andcomprises:

-   obtaining a piece of information relating to at least one call    set-up request received by said communication network to said    telephone number during a given period of time, known as observation    period, subsequent to said suspension date;-   updating, at least according to said piece of information relating    to at least one call set-up request, at least one piece of    information relating to an activity level of said telephone number    in the communication network, said piece of information relating to    an activity level being representative of a number of requests to    set-up a call to said telephone number received by the communication    network for the given observation period and storing, in an entry of    a first data table, known as table of unallocated telephone numbers,    said at least one piece of information relating to an activity level    of said telephone number in association with said telephone number.

The development is based on a completely new and inventive approach tomanaging telephone numbers which are reserved for an operator of acommunication network but which are temporarily no longer allocated toany user of the network. It is based on updating, on the basis of callsmade to that telephone number in the communication network, a piece ofinformation relating to an activity level of that telephone numberduring a given period of time, and storing in memory the value of thatpiece of information, in association with that telephone number.

In this way, the data table of previously allocated telephone numberswaiting to be recycled is enriched with this piece of activity levelinformation and when a user of the communication network requests a newtelephone number, it can be validly used to decide whether the telephonenumber is ready to be reallocated or whether the suspension periodshould be extended.

According to another aspect of the development, the piece of informationrelating to an activity level comprises a counter of a number of callattempts to said telephone number during the observation period and theupdate comprises incrementing the counter using the piece of informationrelating to said call set-up request.

Advantageously, each new call attempt to the unallocated telephonenumber is counted and stored in memory for the observation periodconsidered.

The number of call attempts counted is an indicator of a residualactivity level of the suspended telephone number in the communicationnetwork during that period.

It is noted that the piece of information relating to an activity levelmay additionally comprise other indicators, such as an indicator of thefrequency of calls received, for a unit of time equal to one week, forexample. Such a piece of information can be used to deduce that thetelephone number has been removed from a list used by marketers.

According to yet another aspect of the development, the call set-uprequest having been transmitted by a calling terminal, said obtainingcomprises receiving the call set-up request by said item of equipment ofthe network and transmitting a response to the calling terminal, saidresponse comprising an error message, indicating that the calledtelephone number is no longer allocated.

Thus, according to at least one embodiment, the call set-up requestcounter is updated in real time, while a call set-up request is beingprocessed.

For example, the method is implemented by an item of proxy equipment orby a telephony application server configured to process calls tounallocated numbers and thus to receive any request to set-up a call toan unallocated number.

One advantage is that the piece of information relating to an activitylevel associated with each unallocated number is updated in real time,while the call set-up request is being processed, as is the data tableof unallocated telephone numbers.

According to yet another aspect of the development, said obtainingcomprises querying, from said called telephone number, a second datatable, known as event table, said second table comprising entriesassociating with a telephone number error messages issued in response torequests to set-up a call to said telephone number.

Alternatively, according to at least another embodiment of thedevelopment, the piece of information relating to at least one requestto set-up a call to the unallocated telephone number is obtained byquerying an event data table managed by the communication network. Thisevent table is thus stored in a memory of said communication network.The update of the counter of requests to set-up a call to theunallocated telephone number is therefore delayed compared to theprocessing of the actual call request. Querying the event table mayrelate to one or more call set-up requests received during a givenperiod, for example, one day, one week, etc., for one or more telephonenumbers. For example, the query may relate to all requests received forall unallocated telephone numbers associated with a suspension dateprior to a given date. It can be triggered regularly, for example everyday.

The counters are then updated according to the result of the query andmay therefore relate to several unallocated telephone numbers andseveral call set-up requests.

One advantage is to decorrelate the management of unallocated telephonenumbers and the update of the data table from the call set-up requestprocessing procedure. Indeed, voice over IP communications requirereal-time processing. It is therefore preferable not to make theprocessing of call set-up requests more complex to avoid introducing anylatency. According to this embodiment of the development, the counteraccording to the development can be implemented by an item of equipmentof the network, for example an application server, which is notconfigured to receive the call set-up request, but merely to query theevent data table and manage the table of unallocated telephone numbers.Advantageously, this update is implemented by an API softwareapplication installed on the application server.

According to another aspect of the development, said method comprises:

-   obtaining a piece of information relating to the caller’s membership    of at least one given reputation class from at least a third data    table, known as reputation table; and-   updating the data table of unallocated telephone numbers is further    dependent on the caller’s membership of the at least one given    reputation class.

For example, the at least one given reputation class comprises the classof sales marketers and/or the class of fraudulent marketers.

According to at least one embodiment of the development, only callattempts from these marketers are therefore counted.

In another embodiment, all call attempts are counted, regardless ofwhether the caller is a marketer or a legitimate caller. Indeed, thisindicates that the previous user of telephone number did not informtheir contacts that they had changed their telephone number.

According to another embodiment, the piece of information relating to anactivity level of an unallocated telephone number comprises a firstpiece of count information of all call set-up requests made to thattelephone number and a second piece of count information specific tocall set-up requests from callers belonging to the class of salesmarketers or to the class of fraudulent marketers.

Advantageously, specific decision thresholds can be applied to the firstand second pieces of count information.

Indeed, calls from this class of callers are perceived as very annoyingfor the users of a recycled telephone number. It is thereforeparticularly important to consider the number of calls received fromthis class of callers over a given period of time to assess a risk thatthe new user of this recycled telephone number will receive solicitationcalls intended for the previous user of this number. This number ofcalls received represents a level of residual activity of theunallocated telephone number that is made available to the network todecide whether or not this telephone number is ready to be reallocated.

According to yet another aspect of the development, the piece ofinformation relating to an activity level of the telephone numberfurther comprises an activity indicator, said method comprises verifyinga value of the activity level of said telephone number during the givenobservation period, by comparing the value of said at least one counterwith a given acceptability threshold and updating said activityindicator, said indicator being set to an “inactive” value when thevalue of said counter is below the given acceptability threshold and toan “active” value otherwise.

Advantageously, the data table is enriched with an activity indicatorthat reflects the implementation of a policy for reallocatingunallocated telephone numbers to new users. This piece of informationcan then be directly used by an item of equipment of the network incharge of customer management and reallocation of telephone numbers tonew users, by selecting an unallocated telephone number whose activityindicator has the value “inactive”.

The development also relates to a device for managing at least oneunallocated telephone number in a communication network, said telephonenumber being previously allocated to a user of the communication networkuntil a given date, known as suspension date. Said device is configuredto implement at the level of an item of equipment of the network:

-   obtaining a piece of information relating to at least one call    set-up request received by said communication network to said    telephone number during a given period of time, known as observation    period, subsequent to said suspension date;-   updating, at least according to said piece of information relating    to at least one call set-up request, at least one piece of    information relating to an activity level of said telephone number    in the communication network, said piece of information relating to    an activity level being representative of a number of requests to    set-up a call to said telephone number received by the communication    network for the given observation period and storing, in an entry of    a first data table, known as table of unallocated telephone numbers,    said at least one piece of information relating to an activity level    of said telephone number in association with said telephone number.

Advantageously, said device is configured to implement the steps of themanagement method as described above.

Advantageously, said device is integrated into an item of communicationequipment of the communication network, such as a telephony applicationserver or an item of proxy equipment.

Advantageously, said item of communication equipment is comprised in asystem for managing at least one unallocated telephone number in atelecommunication network.

The system, the item of communication equipment and the managementdevice have at least the same advantages as those conferred by theabove-mentioned management method.

Correlatively, the development also relates to a method for processing arequest for allocating a telephone number to a user of a communicationnetwork, said method comprising, upon receipt of said allocationrequest, selecting said telephone number from a plurality of unallocatedtelephone numbers and sending a response comprising the selectedtelephone number.

Said selection comprises:

-   obtaining a telephone number and at least one piece of information    relating to an activity level of the telephone number in said    communication network from a first data table, known as table of    unallocated telephone numbers, said table comprising entries, one    said entry associating a telephone number previously allocated to    users until a given date, known as suspension date, with said piece    of information relating to an activity level of the telephone number    during a given period of time, known as observation period,    subsequent to said suspension date;-   deciding to select said telephone number for said user according to    said piece of information relating to an activity level and at least    one selection criterion, and-   repeating the previous steps for another telephone number, as long    as it has been decided not to select said telephone number.

The development is based on a completely new and inventive approach toreallocating a previously allocated telephone number, which is based onan enriched data table, comprising not only the unallocated telephonenumbers but, for each of them, at least one piece of informationrelating to an activity level of the telephone number in the networkduring a given period of time. This piece of information is then used todecide, in accordance with a reallocation policy of the operator,whether the telephone number is ready to be reallocated to the user whohas requested it, or whether its suspension period should be extendedbecause its residual activity level is still too high.

According to another aspect of the development, the piece of informationrelating to an activity level of said telephone number in thecommunication network comprises at least one piece of informationrelating to a counter of a number of call set-up requests to said numberreceived by said communication network during the given observationperiod, and the method comprises verifying said at least one selectioncriterion, said verification comprising comparing said piece ofinformation with a given decision threshold, the decision to select saidtelephone number being made when the counter value is less than or equalto a given acceptability threshold.

Advantageously, the piece of information relating to an activity levelof the unallocated telephone number comprises a counter value of anumber of call set-up requests to said number that have been received bysaid telecommunication network during a given period of time, known asobservation period.

According to this embodiment, the decision whether or not to reallocatethe telephone number is made on the basis of whether or not a givenacceptability threshold is exceeded, which corresponds to a maximumallowed number of call attempts to that telephone number during thegiven observation period. For example, the threshold is set to 30 callattempts over a 30-day period, that is an average of one call per day.The telephone number is selected when it receives up to 30 calls in 30days.

According to this embodiment, the number reallocation policy is appliedupon request when processing a user-specific allocation request.

According to yet another aspect, the piece of information relating to anactivity level of said telephone number comprises an activity indicatorintended to take one value among the values “active” and “inactive” andsaid at least one selection criterion comprises that the activityindicator has the value “inactive”.

One advantage of such an indicator, which takes binary values, is thatit reflects a decision already made by the communication network andpreviously stored in the data table. In this way, the operator’stelephone number reallocation policy is applied in only one place, forexample at the item of equipment of the network that manages the tableof unallocated telephone numbers.

According to yet another aspect of the development, the obtainingcomprises issuing a request for obtaining an unallocated telephonenumber to said data table, said request comprising said selectioncriterion.

One advantage is that the telephone number obtained in response toquerying the data table corresponds to an activity indicator set to thevalue “inactive” and can therefore be directly reallocated to the userwho requested it.

The development also relates to a device for processing a request forallocating a telephone number to a user of a telecommunication network,said device being configured to implement the reception of saidallocation request, the selection of said telephone number from aplurality of unallocated telephone numbers and the sending of a responsecomprising the selected telephone number.

According to the development, said selection comprises:

-   obtaining an unallocated telephone number and at least one piece of    information relating to an activity level of the telephone number in    said communication network from a first data table, known as table    of unallocated telephone numbers, said table comprising entries, one    said entry associating a telephone number previously allocated to    users until a given date, known as suspension date, with a piece of    information relating to an activity level of the telephone number    during a given observation period, subsequent to said suspension    date;-   deciding to select said telephone number for said user according to    said piece of information and at least one selection criterion, and-   repeating the obtaining and selection of another telephone number,    as long as it has been decided not to select said telephone number.

Advantageously, said processing device is integrated into an item ofcommunication equipment of the communication network, such as a customermanagement platform or a telephony application server.

Advantageously, said item of communication equipment is comprised in theabove-mentioned management system.

The system, the item of communication equipment and the processingdevice have at least the same advantages as those conferred by theabove-mentioned processing method.

The development also relates to computer program products comprisingprogram code instructions for respectively implementing management andprocessing methods as described previously, when it is executed by aprocessor.

A program can use any programming language, and can be in the form ofsource code, object code, or intermediate code between source code andobject code, such as in a partially compiled form, or in any otherdesirable form.

The development also relates to at least one computer-readable storagemedium on which is saved a computer program comprising program codeinstructions for implementing the steps of the methods according to thedevelopment as described above.

Such a storage medium can be any entity or device able to store theprogram. For example, the medium can comprise a storage means, such as aROM, for example a CD-ROM or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or amagnetic recording means, for example a mobile medium (memory card) or ahard disk or SSD.

On the other hand, such a storage medium can be a transmissible mediumsuch as an electrical or optical signal, that can be carried via anelectrical or optical cable, by radio or by other means, so that thecomputer program contained therein can be executed remotely. Theprograms according to the development can be downloaded in particular ona network, for example the Internet network.

Alternatively, the storage medium or media can be one or more integratedcircuits in which the program is embedded, the circuit(s) being adaptedto execute or to be used in the execution of the above-mentionedmethod(s).

According to one embodiment, the present technique is implemented usingsoftware and/or hardware components. In this context, the term “module”may be used in this document to refer to a software component, ahardware component or a combination of hardware and software components.

A software component is one or more computer programs, one or moresubroutines of a program, or more generally any element of a program orsoftware capable of implementing a function or set of functions, asdescribed below for the module concerned. Such a software component isexecuted by a data processor of a physical entity (terminal, server,gateway, set-top-box, router, etc.) and is able to access the hardwareresources of this physical entity (memories, recording media,communication buses, electronic input/output cards, user interfaces,etc.). Hereafter, resources are understood to be any set of hardwareand/or software elements that support a function or service, whetherindividually or in combination.

In the same way, a hardware component is any element of a hardwareassembly capable of implementing a function or set of functions, asdescribed below for the module concerned. It may be a programmablehardware component or a component with an embedded processor forexecuting software, for example, an integrated circuit, a smart card, amemory card, an electronic card for executing firmware, etc.

Each component of the system described above naturally implements itsown software modules.

The various embodiments mentioned above can be combined with each otherfor the implementation of the present technique.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other purposes, features and advantages of the development will becomemore apparent upon reading the following description, hereby given toserve as an illustrative and non-restrictive example, in relation to thefigures, among which:

FIG. 1 shows an example of the architecture of a system for managing atelephone number that is not allocated to a user in a communicationnetwork according to the development;

FIG. 2 describes in the form of a flowchart the steps of a method formanaging at least one unallocated telephone number in a communicationnetwork, according to an embodiment of the development;

FIG. 3A details the obtaining of a piece of information relating to atleast one request to set-up a call to an unallocated telephone number inthe communication network, according to a first embodiment of thedevelopment;

FIG. 3B details the obtaining of a piece of information relating to atleast one request to set-up a call to an unallocated telephone number inthe communication network, according to a second embodiment of thedevelopment;

FIG. 4 describes in the form of a flow diagram the exchanges between auser terminal calling an unallocated telephone number in a communicationnetwork and communication equipment of said network, according to anembodiment of the development;

FIG. 5 describes in the form of a flowchart the steps of a method forprocessing a request for allocating a telephone number to a user,according to an embodiment of the development;

FIG. 6 describes in the form of a flow diagram the exchanges between aservice agent requesting the allocation of a telephone number to a newuser of a communication network and communication equipment of saidnetwork, according to an embodiment of the development;

FIG. 7 describes an example of the hardware structure of a device formanaging at least one unallocated telephone number in a communicationnetwork according to the development; and

FIG. 8 describes an example of a hardware structure of a device forprocessing a request for allocating a telephone number to a user of thecommunication network according to the development.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

The development relates, on the one hand, to the management of at leastone unallocated telephone number in a communication network, saidtelephone number having been previously allocated to a user until agiven suspension date, and, on the other hand, to the processing of arequest for allocating such a telephone number to a new user of thiscommunication network.

The general principle of the development is based on the enrichment, atthe communication network, of a data table of telephone numbers that arenot allocated by the operator of this network, by associating with apreviously allocated telephone number an piece of information relatingto an activity level of this telephone number in the communicationnetwork. This additional piece of information is used to decide whetherthis telephone number is ready to be reallocated to a new user orwhether its suspension period should be extended.

This piece of information comprises in particular a number of callattempts to this telephone number counted during a given observationperiod and the development proposes in particular to decide to allocatethe telephone number if the number of requests to set-up a call to thistelephone number during the observation period is below a giventhreshold.

One advantage is to ensure an acceptable disturbance level for the newuser while optimising the suspension period during which a telephonenumber that was previously allocated to a user cannot be reallocated toa new user.

The development applies to the processing of voice-over-IP telephonecalls by a fixed or mobile communication network, for example usingVoLTE (Voice over Long Term Evolution), ViLTE (Video over Long TermEvolution) or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology. Thesedifferent technologies generally rely on a signalling protocol, such asSIP (Signalling Internet Protocol), to establish and manage a telephonecommunication session.

Naturally, the development is not limited to this protocol and isapplicable to any other protocol that enables VoIP call signalling.However, in the remainder of the description, the examples presentedwill implement this signalling protocol.

In relation to FIG. 1 , an example of the architecture of a system 10for managing at least one unallocated telephone number in acommunication network RC according to an embodiment of the developmentis now presented. In this example, the communication network RC of anoperator has been represented schematically as a single entity, withoutshowing its different access networks for simplicity. It is assumed thatthis communication network RC implements at least one of the VoIPtechnologies discussed above. In this example, a first item of terminalequipment UE-A connects to a communication network, for example thecommunication network RC, via a fixed access network (not shown) of theADSL or fibre type or a wireless access network, according to a Wi-Fitype technology. Naturally, the development is not limited to thisexample and applies equally well to a cellular type mobile accessnetwork, to which the first item of terminal equipment UE-A connects viaa 2G to 5G type link. It is assumed that the first item of terminalequipment UE-A issues a request to set-up a call to a telephone numberpreviously allocated to a second item of terminal equipment UE-B by theoperator of the communication network RC.

It is noted that the user of the first item of terminal equipment UE-Ais not necessarily a subscriber of the operator of the communicationnetwork RC. They also may have subscribed with another operator ofanother communication network (not shown). In this case, their requestis transmitted by the communication network of that other operator tothe communication network RC, in a manner known per se.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the system 10 according to the developmentcomprises a first item of communication equipment EQ1 of thecommunication network RC. It is assumed that this item of communicationequipment EQ1 is placed in the path of the call set-up request messagesent by the first item of terminal equipment or calling terminal UE-A orthat other equipment of the network receiving this message is configuredto redirect it to it. This includes, for example, an item of proxyequipment PS, a telephone application server (TAS) or any other item ofcommunication equipment of the network RC, such as a session router. Itis indeed configured to examine incoming signalling traffic anddetermine where to route the traffic and can also be used to recordcalls in a call table or log.

According to the development, such an item of equipment EQ1 isconfigured to manage at least a first data table DB_UN, known as tableof unallocated telephone numbers, stored in a memory of thecommunication network RC.

In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the first item ofequipment EQ1 comprises a device 100 for managing an unallocatedtelephone number in the communication network RC according to anembodiment of the development. It is assumed that this telephone numberwas previously allocated to a user of the network RC and that it is nolonger allocated since a given suspension date.

According to the development, the device 100 is configured to obtain apiece of information relating to at least one call set-up requestreceived by said communication network to said telephone number during agiven period of time, known as observation period, subsequent to thesuspension date. The device 100 is further configured to update an pieceof information relating to an activity level of the telephone numberfrom the piece of information relating to the call set-up request.Advantageously, this piece of information relating to an activity levelcomprises at least one counter of a number of call set-up requests tosaid telephone number for the given observation period according to saidpiece of information obtained and the update comprises incrementing thiscounter. The device is finally configured to store, in the first datatable DB_UN, the updated piece of activity level information for thegiven observation period, in association with said telephone number.

The device 100 thus implements the method for managing at least oneunallocated telephone number according to the development that will bedetailed hereafter in relation to FIG. 2 . According to an embodiment,it is implemented in the form of an API (Application ProgrammingInterface) software application API_MG_UN, installed on the first itemof equipment EQ1. Advantageously, this application is dedicated to theimplementation of a service for managing unallocated telephone numbersaccording to the development.

Indeed, in an operator network such as the network RC, it is common foran application server to host several software applications eachimplementing a specific service and in particular the service formanaging unallocated telephone numbers.

Of course, the development is not limited to this example and alsoapplies when the first item of equipment EQ1 is another item ofequipment of the network, such as for example an item of proxy equipmentPS, which has previously registered with the application server TAS inorder to be forwarded certain call signalling messages.

Alternatively, the device 100 may be independent of the first item ofequipment EQ1, but connected to it by any link whatsoever, wired or not.

FIG. 1 also shows an example of the architecture of a second item ofequipment of the network EQ2, according to an embodiment of thedevelopment. This includes, for example, an item of equipment in chargeof customer relationship management CRM, such as a customer managementplatform CRM_PF. According to this example, the second item of networkequipment EQ2 comprises a device 200 for processing a request forallocating a telephone number to a user of the communication network RC.For example, this request is received from a customer service agent CSA,for example installed on a user terminal, such as a laptop orsmartphone, connected to the communication network RC and handled by anemployee of the operator. According to the development, the device 200is configured to receive said allocation request, select a telephonenumber from a plurality of unallocated telephone numbers and send aresponse to the allocation request comprising the selected telephonenumber, said selection comprising:

-   obtaining a telephone number and a piece of information associated    with said number, said piece of information relating to an activity    level of the unallocated telephone number during a given period of    time, known as observation period, from the first data table DB_UN;-   deciding whether or not to select said telephone number for said    user according to said piece of information relating to an activity    level during a given period of time, known as observation period,    subsequent to said suspension date, and to at least one selection    criterion, and-   repeating the obtaining and the decision for another telephone    number, when it has been decided not to select said telephone    number.

Thus, the device 200 is configured to query the first data table DB_UNto select an unallocated telephone number and respond to the allocationrequest it has received. The device 200 therefore implements the methodfor processing a request for allocating a telephone number to a user ofthe communication network according to the development that will bedetailed hereafter in relation to FIG. 5 .

According to an embodiment, it is implemented in the form of an APIsoftware application API_ATT_UN, installed on the second item ofequipment EQ2. Advantageously, this application is dedicated toallocating a telephone number to a user using the first data table DB_UNof unallocated telephone numbers, enriched according to the developmentand stored in a memory of the network RC.

Alternatively, the device 200 may be independent of the second item ofequipment EQ2, but connected to it by any link whatsoever, wired or not.

According to another embodiment, both devices 100 and 200 are hosted bya single item of equipment of the network, for example the applicationserver TAS, which in this case manages the whole process according tothe development.

In relation to FIG. 2 , an embodiment of a method for managing at leastone unallocated telephone number in the communication network RCaccording to an embodiment of the development is now presented in theform of a flowchart.

In the following, it is assumed that it is implemented by an item ofproxy equipment PS or by an application server TAS, both of them beingconfigured to receive the call set-up request messages sent by thecalling terminals to an unallocated telephone number. As mentionedabove, the method in question is implemented, for example, in the formof a software application API_MG_UN.

It is assumed that among this plurality of unallocated telephonenumbers, some may still be free of any usage history, but that severaltelephone numbers have already been previously allocated to at least oneuser until a given date, prior to the current date, known as suspensiondate. It is noted that some of these telephone numbers may havepreviously been used for other services provided by the operator of thecommunication network RC. For example, they may have been allocated toIoT (Internet of Things) connected objects that need to be equipped witha SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card. The development relatesmore specifically to telephone numbers previously allocated to terminalequipment users, known as “suspended”.

It is assumed that the communication network RC manages a first datatable of unallocated telephone numbers, for example the table DB_UNpreviously described in relation to FIG. 1 , comprising a plurality ofentries associated with unallocated telephone numbers in the network andthat the item of equipment EQ1, TAS, PS is configured to access thisdata table and manage the data contained therein.

In 20, a piece of information relating to at least one call set-uprequest received by said communication network to an unallocatedtelephone number UN1 during a given time period, known as observationperiod, is received by the item of equipment EQ1, TAS, PS. Theobservation period considered is subsequent to said suspension date.

This piece of information can take different forms, two examples ofwhich will be detailed below. Nevertheless, in all cases, it indicatesthat one or more attempts to reach the unallocated telephone number havebeen made by one or more calling user terminals, such as the first itemof terminal equipment UE-A of FIG. 1 . It is assumed that the user ofthis terminal UE-A is trying to reach a user of the second item ofterminal equipment UE-B and is not aware that the telephone number UN1they dialled is no longer allocated to the user of the second item ofterminal equipment UE-B.

In 22, one or more update criteria are taken into consideration. A firstupdate criterion example is temporal and relates to the telephone numbersuspension date. For example, this criterion may be to take into accountthe information obtained in 20 only for telephone numbers that have beensuspended for a minimum suspension period. For example, this minimumsuspension period is chosen to be six months.

A second update criterion example could be related to the type of callerand limit the consideration of the information obtained in 20 to callattempts from callers such as sales or fraudulent marketers, becausethis type of call is perceived as particularly annoying by users.

A third update criterion example may be related to the observationperiod considered and consist in verifying that it has not expired. Inthis case, if a new observation period has started, the piece ofactivity level information of the telephone number should be updated forthis new period. For example, the observation period is 30 days.

If at least one update criterion is not met, the method terminates andno update of the data table is implemented for the telephone number UN1.

On the contrary, if one or more update criteria are met, an update 23 ofthe piece of activity level information AL is triggered. According tothe development, this activity level comprises an piece of informationrelating to a counter CNT(UN1) of a number of call set-up requests tothe telephone number UN1 received during the given observation period.In case the observation period has not expired since the previousupdate, the update comprises incrementing this counter with the numberof requests received. If the observation period has expired and a newone has started, the counter is reset before being incremented.

The updated value of the piece of activity level information AL,comprising in particular that of the counter CNT, is then stored inmemory, in the data table DB _UN, for example in association with anidentifier of the current observation period and the telephone numberUN1. Advantageously, the previous value of the counter is kept inassociation with an identifier of the previous observation period, whichmakes it possible to obtain a history of call attempts to the telephonenumber UN1 over time.

Optionally, in 24, the piece of activity level information AL associatedwith the telephone number UN1 is obtained from the data table DB_UN forverification. In this example, it is assumed to comprise at least onecounter CNT, CNT_SPM of a number of call attempts to the telephonenumber UN1 during a given observation period and an activity indicatorIA. This indicator IA takes one of two predetermined values, a first onecorresponding to an “inactive” state and a second one to an “active”state. Advantageously, this verification consists in verifying that theindicator IA is set to a correct value and it comprises comparing thecounter value(s) obtained with given acceptability thresholds TH,TH_SPM. If the value(s) is/are less than or equal to the respectivethresholds, then it is decided to set the activity indicator IA to“inactive”. If the activity indicator IA stored in memory for thecurrent observation period is not set to this value, an update requestis sent to the data table DB_UN in 25.

It is understood that this embodiment of the development makes itpossible to store in the table a state value of the unallocatedtelephone number UN1, which can be directly used by another item ofequipment of the network RC, for example configured to allocate atelephone number from the table DB_UN to a new user of the network RC.This aspect will be detailed below in relation to FIGS. 5 and 6 .

It is noted that the above examples are presented by way ofillustration, without loss of generality, other embodiments beingpossible.

In relation to FIG. 3A, the obtaining 20 of the piece of informationrelating to at least one call set-up request to an unallocated telephonenumber according to a first embodiment of the management methodaccording to the development is now detailed.

In 201, a signalling message comprising a call set-up requestREQ_CLL(UN1) to the telephone number UN1 is received by the item ofequipment EQ1, PS, TAS.

In 202, a caller identifier, such as their telephone number or MSISDN(Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number) and thecalled party’s telephone number UN1 are extracted from the receivedmessage. The MSISDN identifier of the called party is indeed used toroute a call to that called party.

Optionally, in 203, a verification of the caller UE-A is carried outfrom their telephone number by querying at least one data table storedin a memory of the network RC, for example the data table DB_SPM of FIG.1 comprising information relating to callers considered as sales orfraudulent marketers. A response is received with a caller typeassociated with the caller’s telephone number, if a record was found inthe table DB_SPM and an error message otherwise. Advantageously, thetype of caller received is stored in memory in association with thetelephone number UN1 and an identifier of the call set-up requestreceived.

In 204, a response comprising an error message UN_ERR is transmitted tothe caller’s terminal UE-A, indicating that the telephone number UN1 isno longer allocated and that the call is rejected.

In relation to FIG. 3B, the obtaining 20 of the piece of informationrelating to at least one call set-up request to an unallocated telephonenumber according to a second embodiment of the management methodaccording to the development is now detailed.

In this example, the piece of information relating to at least one callset-up request to an unallocated telephone number is obtained byquerying in 201′ a data table DB_LG or event table (or “logs”) stored ina memory of the network RC, as illustrated in FIG. 1 . For example, aquery REQ_CLL(UN1) is transmitted to the table DB_LG, comprising aperiod of time considered, for example equal to the observation periodor to a fraction of the observation period and a type of event searched.This involves for example looking for events such as the rejection of acall set-up request due to an unallocated requested telephone number.

A response is received from the data table DB_LG, comprising 0, 1 ormore event reports relating to 0, 1 or more unallocated telephonenumbers, matching the query criteria.

In 202′, the allocated telephone numbers concerned by the received eventreports are extracted from the received response together withinformation relating to each of the associated call set-up requests. Anumber of call set-up requests to each of the unallocated telephonenumbers is derived from the extracted information for the query periodconsidered.

Advantageously, a telephone number of the caller is also extracted fromthe received event reports and it is used to query the data tableDB_SPM.

Next, steps 22 and 23 of the management method according to thedevelopment, which have been previously described, are implemented foreach of the unallocated telephone numbers obtained.

In relation to FIG. 4 , a flow diagram of the messages exchanged betweendifferent equipment of the communication network RC following thereception of a call set-up request to an unallocated telephone number isnow detailed. In this example, it is assumed that the signallingmessages exchanged are SIP protocol compliant.

The item of terminal equipment or calling terminal UE-A of FIG. 1 isconsidered and it is assumed that it sends a call set-up requestREQ_CLL(UN1) to the telephone number UN1, which it believes to beallocated to the second item of terminal equipment or called terminalUE-B, in an SIP INVITE message.

The SIP INVITE message is received by the communication network CLR_OPof the calling terminal UE-A which retransmits it to the communicationnetwork RC of the operator that manages the number UN1 previouslyallocated to the called terminal UE-B, where the development isimplemented.

Upon receipt of the INVITE message by the network RC of the calledparty, the called party’s network checks with the HSS (Home SubscriberServer) server that the called telephone number is allocated to asubscribed user and obtains the required information to route the callto that subscriber. For mobile communication networks whose architectureis UMTS or LTE compliant, the HSS server is the concatenation of the HLR(Home Location Registry) registry of the GSM and Edge networks and theauthentication services. It is a database comprising telephone numbersallocated to the operator and for each of them, at least one identifierof the subscriber to whom it has been allocated.

If the called party’s telephone number is an allocated number, thenetwork RC routes the call to it and the call is terminated normally.

If, on the contrary, the called party’s telephone number is anunallocated number, the call is transferred to a proxy server PSconfigured to perform the following operations:

-   receiving the SIP invite message in 201;-   acknowledging the SIP INVITE message with a message RP(100TRNG) of    type “100 Trying”;-   extracting, in 202, the phone numbers of the caller and the called    party from the received message;-   searching for the phone number of the caller in a reputation data    table DB_SPM of the network RC, comprising entries associating with    a caller’s telephone number reputation information, such as for    example a type of caller. A caller type comprises, for example, a    sales type and refers to sales marketers, a fraudulent marketer (for    example “spam calls, where marketers are referred to as “spammers”)    and a legitimate type. This reputation table DB_SPM is updated by    the operator on an ongoing basis, in a manner known per se.

Note that in other embodiments, the proxy server PS does not implementthe operation of looking up the caller’s telephone number in areputation data table DB_SPM of the network RC. This is indeed optional,as it may also be relevant to take into account that legitimate callers,for example contacts of the previous user of the suspended phone number,continue to try to reach this user because they have not been informedof the change in phone number.

Caller reputation information can be obtained in a number of ways by theoperator of the communication network. According to a first embodiment,the latter uses reports sent by users who have already received callsfrom this caller to indicate that the caller is a telemarketing company,for example. According to a second embodiment, the operator can analysecall records to identify sales or fraudulent marketers on the basis ofpredetermined call patterns. For example, a sales marketer typicallymakes many calls to many different people over a short period of time. Afraudulent caller seeks to incite the called party to call back on apremium rate telephone number by making numerous short calls and hangingup before the called party can answer (“ping calls”);

-   if the caller’s telephone number is present in the data table DB_SPM    and after checking in 22 that any update criteria of the table DB_UN    are met, query (RQ(UN1, AL)) the piece of activity level information    associated with the telephone number UN1 in the telephone number    data table DB_UN, update this information and request in 23 in a    query message RQ_UP(AL, UN1) the storage of this piece of updated    information AL in the data table DB_UN for the telephone number UN1.    This update includes at least the incrementation of a counter CNT of    calls received to the UN1 number for the observation period;-   respond in 204 to the caller’s CLR_OP network with an error message,    for example a “404 Failure” SIP message to indicate that the call    set-up request is rejected because of an unallocated telephone    number.

In this respect, it is noted that in older systems, for exampleSS7/ISUP, the error message is of the type “Cause Code 1”. The ISUPsystem is used to establish wired connections between exchanges. Itcomprises messages associated with connecting and disconnecting calls.ISUP is the protocol used to support the signalling required to providevoice and non-voice services in telephone communications. It is anextension of SS7 (Signalling System No. 7), which is used as aninterface protocol for voice and data within the public switchedtelephone network (PSTN), as well as for the inputs/outputs of thisnetwork.

This error message is transmitted by the caller’s CLR_OP network to thecalling party’s UE-A terminal.

The error is displayed to the caller and the call is terminated with anACK message to acknowledge the error message.

The proxy server PS thus implements the method for managing at least oneunallocated telephone number in the communication network RC justdescribed in relation to FIGS. 2 and 3A. Advantageously, this method isimplemented in the form of a software application API_MG_UN.

As a variant, the management method just described is implemented at thelevel of a TAS application server which, because it is configured tomonitor traffic and update databases, has the resources to do so.Advantageously, the software application API_MG_UN is loaded andexecuted by the TAS application server.

In this respect, it is noted that the SIP INVITE message is routed inthe operator’s communication network RC by means of several items ofcommunication equipment such as routing equipment, session controllerequipment and telephony application servers (TAS). In particular, suchan application server is configured to retransmit the SIP INVITEmessages it receives to communication equipment or software applicationsconfigured to render dedicated services related to the processing of atelephone call. These items of communication equipment and softwareapplications were previously registered with the TAS application server.These include, for example, billing and proxy services. A proxy serversuch as the PS server is a server that acts as an intermediary and whosemain purpose is to hide network details from external connections inorder to maintain its security. The proxy transmits requests tosensitive areas of the network without sharing any details of thenetwork, such as the IP address. The software applications in questionmay be hosted by the application server itself or by a separatecommunication device such as the PS server.

In relation to FIG. 5 , a method for processing a request for allocatingan unallocated telephone number to a user of the communications networkRC according to an embodiment of the development is now described. Inthis example, the process is implemented by an item of equipment EQ2 ofthe communication network RC, for example the customer managementplatform CRM_PF of FIG. 1 . For example, the processing method inquestion is implemented in the form of a dedicated software applicationAPI_ATT_UN, which was previously loaded into the item of equipment EQ2,CRM_PF.

In 50, a, allocation request REQ_ATT_UN of a telephone number to a userof the communication network RC is received by the CRM_PF platform froma service agent CSA.

In 51, a telephone number is selected from a plurality of telephonenumbers reserved for the operator of the communication network RC andcurrently unallocated as follows:

-   in 511, an unallocated telephone number UN1 is obtained by querying    the data table of unallocated telephone numbers DB _UN, stored in a    memory of the operator’s communication network RC. According to the    development and in accordance with what has been previously    described in relation to FIGS. 2, 3A-3B and 4 , this table DB_UN    associates, with the telephone number UN1, information relating to    an activity level of the telephone number UN1 in the network RC    during a period of observation for example equal to 30 days.

Advantageously, it is specified in the query RQ(UN1) that the requiredtelephone number must no longer be allocated for at least a givensuspension period, for example equal to six months. Alternatively, thedata table handles this aspect on its own and only proposes unallocatedtelephone numbers that meet this criterion.

The observation of such a suspension period, during which an unallocatedtelephone number cannot be reallocated, has two purposes: firstly, toallow users who had saved this telephone number in their contacts torealise that this number is no longer valid, i.e. that it is no longerassociated with the user indicated in their contacts. If the phonenumber was immediately reallocated, the new user of that phone numberwould receive many calls intended for the previous user. This periodvaries from operator to operator, but is generally at least 90 days.

The table response therefore includes an unallocated telephone numberUN1 and at least the value of a piece of information AL related to anactivity level of this telephone number UN1 for the current observationperiod;

-   in 512, the piece of information AL is extracted from the response    and evaluated using selection criteria CSL. According to a first    embodiment of the development, the extracted piece of information AL    comprises a counter of a number of call set-up requests to that    telephone number received during the observation period. The counter    value is compared to a given acceptability threshold TH, TH_SPM. For    example, the piece of count information CNT received indifferently    relates to all call attempts received and the acceptability    threshold TH is set between 20 and 30 for a 30-day period.    Advantageously, the response received comprises another piece of    count information CNT_SPM relating to call attempts from commercial    or fraudulent marketers and the acceptability threshold TH_SPM is    set at 4 call attempts in the observation period. If the counter or    counters are less than or equal to their respective thresholds, the    telephone number UN1 is considered ready for reuse and is therefore    selected and the method goes to step 53.

According to a second embodiment, the piece of extracted information ALcomprises an activity indicator IA of the telephone number set to thevalue “active” or “inactive”. Advantageously, the selection criterionCSL is to select a telephone number whose indicator IA has the value“inactive”. If this is the case, the telephone number UN1 is selectedand the method goes to step 52.

Otherwise, as the CSL selection criteria are not met, the UN1 telephonenumber is not selected and the process repeats step 511 in order toobtain another candidate UN2 telephone number for reallocation.

It is assumed that telephone number UN1 has been selected. In 52, arequest to delete the record corresponding to telephone number UN1 issent to data table DB_UN. In 53, a response message is sent to therequesting service agent, including the telephone number UN1.

Note that there are several ways to access the database. A first optionis to access it indirectly through the application server TAS or anyother network equipment involved in call routing and configured to querythe database DB_UN. This querying is done for example through adedicated software application or via a direct connection to thedatabase and a query language such as SQL, for example. In the firstcase, the TAS updates the number of call attempts to a telephone number,which attempts may be from “spammers”.

A second option is that the customer management platform CRM_PF accessesthe database DB_UN directly through a secure software application or APIdesigned to request information on a telephone number from the databaseDB_UN and verify that it can be reallocated from the informationobtained. The connection between the platform CRM_PF and the databaseDB_UN can be made via the Internet.

A third option is that the customer management platform CRM_PF accessesthe entire database DB_UN in the form of a file, for example aspreadsheet file, in CSV (Comma-Separated Values) format, in which thedata is separated by commas. The file in question is, for example,exported by the application server TAS or any other item of serverequipment of the network configured to access the database DB_UN, thenshared with the management platform CRM_PF via a secure connection, suchas a connection set up according to the SSH File Transfer Protocol(SFTP), for it to import it into its software system. This file can thenbe imported into other software systems. These CSV files are generallyshared over secure connections, such as SFTP (Secure File TransferProtocol) connections.

In relation to FIG. 6 , a flow diagram of the messages exchanged betweendifferent network equipment following the reception of a request forallocating an unallocated telephone number to a user in accordance withan example of an embodiment of the development is now described indetail. In this example, it is assumed that a CSA customer agentconnects to the platform CRM_PF to request a new SIM card for a new userof the communication network RC. Upon receipt of the request RQ_ATT(UN)issued by the agent CSA, the platform CRM_PF requests an unallocatedtelephone number from the data table DB_UN for this new SIM card.

Advantageously, the platform CRM_PF specifies in its request RQ(UN1)that it wishes to obtain a number which has not been allocated for atleast a given suspension period, for example equal to six months.Alternatively, the data table handles this aspect on its own and onlyproposes unallocated telephone numbers that meet this criterion.

In response, the platform CRM_PF obtains in 511 the telephone number UN1and at least one piece of information AL relating to an activity levelof the telephone number UN1 during a current observation period, forexample equal to the previous 30 days. As previously described, thisinvolves for example one or more counter values CNT, CNT_SPM of a numberof received calls to that telephone number during the observation periodor the value of an activity indicator IA. In 512, it verifies with thepiece of information AL obtained that the telephone number UN1 meets thepredefined selection criteria CSL. For example, it compares the value orvalues of counters obtained to one or more given threshold(s) TH, TH_SPMand decides to select the telephone number UN1 if none of the thresholdsis crossed. Alternatively, it checks that the activity indicator IA hasthe value “inactive”. It therefore decides to select or not to selectthe telephone number UN1.

If the telephone number is selected, it responds in 53 to the CSA agentwith the telephone number UN1 allocated to the user and also providesthe details of the new SIM. In 52, the CRM platform request the datatable DB_UN to delete the entry associated with the telephone number UN1which is now reallocated. It also updates the server HSS/HLR with thedetails of the new SIM and the telephone number UN1 to be associatedwith that SIM.

Otherwise, the operations 511 and 512 are repeated until a telephonenumber can be selected.

In relation to FIG. 7 , an example of a hardware structure of a device100 for managing at least one telephone number not allocated to a userin a local communications network according to the development is nowpresented, said telephone number being previously allocated to a user ofthe communications network until a given date, known as suspension datesaid device comprising at least one module for obtaining a piece ofinformation relating to at least one call set-up request received bysaid communication network to said telephone number during a given timeperiod, known as observation period, subsequent to said suspension date,a module for updating at least one piece of information relating to anactivity level of the telephone number in the network for the givenobservation period from said information obtained and a storage module,in a first data table, known as table of unallocated telephone numbers,of said information relating to an activity level of the telephonenumber in association with said telephone number and a piece ofinformation relating to said given observation period. This piece ofinformation AL comprises at least one counter of a number of call set-uprequests to said telephone number received by the communication networkfor the given observation period and the update comprises at least theincrementation of said counter.

Advantageously, the device 100 further comprises a module for receivinga call set-up request to the unallocated telephone number and a modulefor responding to said request.

According to another embodiment of the development, the device 100comprises a module for querying a second data table, known as event datatable, stored in a memory of said network, said second table comprisingrecords associating with a telephone number error messages issued inresponse to call set-up requests to said telephone number.

Advantageously, the device 100 also comprises a module for obtaininginformation on the caller’s membership of a reputation class of at leastone third data table, known as reputation table comprising entriesassociating reputation information, such as for example a caller type,with the telephone number of a caller and a verification moduleconfigured to verify a criterion relating to the caller type.

The term “module” can correspond to a software component as well as to ahardware component or a set of hardware and software components, asoftware component itself corresponding to one or more computer programsor sub-programs, or more generally, to any element of a program capableof implementing a function or set of functions.

More generally, such a device 100 comprises a random access memory 103(a RAM memory, for example), a processing unit 102 equipped for examplewith a processor and controlled by a computer program Pg1,representative of the modules for obtaining, updating and storing,stored in a read-only memory 101 (a ROM memory or hard disk, forexample). At initialisation, the code instructions of the computerprogram are for example loaded into a random access memory 103 beforebeing executed by the processor of the processing unit 102. The randomaccess memory 103 can also contain a copy of the value information ofthe activity level information, of caller type, of suspension period,etc., obtained for example from the data table of unallocated telephonenumbers DB _UN, the event data table DB_LG. It can also include theupdate criteria CMJ of the piece of information relating to an activitylevel of the telephone number.

FIG. 7 only shows a particular one of several possible ways of realisingthe device 100, so that it executes the steps of the method for managingat least one unallocated telephone number to a user in a communicationnetwork as detailed above, in relation to FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B in itsdifferent embodiments. Indeed, these steps may be implementedindifferently on a reprogrammable computing machine (a PC computer, aDSP processor or a microcontroller) executing a program comprising asequence of instructions, or on a dedicated computing machine (forexample a set of logic gates such as an FPGA or an ASIC, or any otherhardware module).

In the case where the device 100 is realised with a reprogrammablecomputing machine, the corresponding program (i.e. the sequence ofinstructions) can be stored in a removable (such as, for example, an SDcard, a USB flash drive, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM) or non-removable storagemedium, this storage medium being partially or totally readable by acomputer or a processor.

The different embodiments have been described above in relation to adevice 100 integrated into an item of communication equipment EQ1, suchas a proxy server PS or a telephony application server TAS, but it canalso be separate from this item of equipment and connected to it by awired or wireless interface.

Also shown, in relation to FIG. 8 , is an example of a hardwarestructure of a device 200 for processing a request for allocating atelephone number to a user of a communication network according to thedevelopment, comprising at least one module for receiving saidallocation request, a module for selecting said telephone number from aplurality of unallocated telephone numbers and a module for sending aresponse comprising the selected telephone number, said selection modulebeing configured for:

-   obtaining at least one unallocated telephone number and at least one    piece of information associated with said number, said piece of    information relating to an activity level AL of the telephone number    during a given period of time, known as observation period, from a    first data table, known as table of unallocated telephone numbers;-   deciding to allocate said telephone number to said user, according    to said information and to at least one decision criterion, and-   repeating the preceding operations with another telephone number,    when it has been decided not to select the telephone number.

Advantageously, the device 200 comprises a module for sending a requestto delete the entry associated with said unallocated telephone numberfrom the table of unallocated telephone numbers.

The term “module” can correspond to a software component as well as to ahardware component or a set of hardware and software components, asoftware component itself corresponding to one or more computer programsor sub-programs, or more generally, to any element of a program capableof implementing a function or set of functions.

More generally, such a device 200 comprises a random access memory 203(a RAM memory, for example), a processing unit 202 equipped for examplewith a processor and controlled by a computer program Pg2,representative of the modules for receiving, selecting and transmittinga response, stored in a read-only memory 201 (a ROM memory or hard disk,for example). At initialisation, the code instructions of the computerprogram are for example loaded into a random access memory 203 beforebeing executed by the processor of the processing unit 202. The randomaccess memory 203 can also contain information obtained from the datatable of unallocated telephone numbers, the criteria for selecting atelephone number, etc.

FIG. 8 only shows a particular one of several possible ways of realisingthe device 200, so that it executes the steps of the method forprocessing a request for allocating a telephone number as detailedabove, in relation to FIGS. 5 and 6 in its different embodiments.Indeed, these steps may be implemented indifferently on a reprogrammablecomputing machine (a PC computer, a DSP processor or a microcontroller)executing a program comprising a sequence of instructions, or on adedicated computing machine (for example a set of logic gates such as anFPGA or an ASIC, or any other hardware module).

In the case where the device 200 is realised with a reprogrammablecomputing machine, the corresponding program (i.e. the sequence ofinstructions) can be stored in a removable (such as, for example, an SDcard, a USB flash drive, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM) or non-removable storagemedium, this storage medium being partially or totally readable by acomputer or a processor.

The different modes of implementation have been described above inrelation to a device 200 integrated into an item of communicationequipment EQ2, such as a customer management platform CRM_PF, but it canalso be separate from this item of equipment and connected to it by awired or wireless interface.

The development that has just been described in its differentembodiments has many advantages. Indeed, by enriching a data table ofthe operator comprising telephone numbers reserved for the operator butcurrently unallocated to users, using information relating to a residualactivity level of a telephone number previously allocated to a user inthe communication network, it allows the operator to decide moreefficiently and securely, according to that activity level, whether ornot the telephone number in question is ready to be reallocated to a newuser. This decision is taken at the end of an incompressible suspensionperiod, which can therefore be reduced, for example from 6 to 3 months.In this way, the telephone number can be put back into service as soonas it can be established that it will not be a nuisance to its futureuser due to calls to the previous user of that telephone number.

1. A method of managing at least one unallocated telephone number in acommunication network, wherein the method is implemented by an item ofnetwork equipment and comprises: updating, in a first data table storingunallocated telephone numbers, at least one piece of informationrelating to an activity level of the telephone number in thecommunication network, the piece of information relating to an activitylevel being representative of a number of call set-up requests to thetelephone number received by the communication network for anobservation period and being associated with the telephone number. 2.The management method according to claim 1, wherein the piece ofinformation relating to an activity level comprises a counter of anumber of call attempts to the telephone number during the observationperiod, and the updating comprises incrementing the counter using apiece of information relating to a call set-up request received by thecommunication network to the telephone number during the observationperiod.
 3. The management method according to claim 1, wherein the pieceof information relating to the call set-up request is obtained byquerying, from the called telephone number, a second data table,referred to as an event table, the second table comprising entriesassociating with a telephone number error messages issued in response torequests to set-up a call to the telephone number.
 4. The managementmethod according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises: obtaininginformation on a caller’s membership of at least one given reputationclass from at least one third data table, referred to as a reputationtable; and updating the data table of unallocated telephone numbers isfurther dependent on the caller’s membership of the at least one givenreputation class.
 5. A method of processing a request for allocating atelephone number to a user of a communication network, the methodcomprising, upon receipt of the allocation request: selecting, from afirst data table storing unallocated telephone numbers, the telephonenumber from a plurality of unallocated telephone numbers, according to apiece of activity level information and at least one selection criterion(CRT), the piece of activity level information being representative of anumber of call set-up requests to the telephone number received by thecommunication network for an observation period and being associatedwith the telephone number; and sending a response comprising theselected telephone number.
 6. The method of processing a request forallocating a telephone number to a user of a communication networkaccording to claim 5, wherein the piece of information relating to anactivity level of the telephone number in the communication networkcomprises at least one piece of information relating to a counter of anumber of call set-up requests to the number received by thecommunication network during the given observation period, and themethod comprises checking the at least one selection criterion (CSL),the checking comprising comparing the piece of information with a givendecision threshold, the decision to select the telephone number beingmade when the counter value is less than or equal to a givenacceptability threshold.
 7. The method of processing a request forallocating a telephone number according to claim 5, wherein the piece ofinformation relating to an activity level of the telephone numbercomprises an activity indicator for taking one value among the valuesactive and inactive and in that the at least one selection criterioncomprises that the activity indicator has the value inactive.
 8. Themethod of processing a request for allocating a telephone numberaccording to claim 7, wherein the method comprises issuing a request forobtaining an unallocated telephone number to the data table, the requestcomprising the selection criterion.
 9. A device for managing at leastone unallocated telephone number in a communication network, thetelephone number being previously allocated to a user of thecommunication network until a given date, known as suspension date,wherein the device is configured to implement at the level of an item ofequipment of the network: obtaining a piece of information relating toat least one call set-up request received by the communication networkto the telephone number during a given period of time, referred to as anobservation period, subsequent to the suspension date; updating, atleast according to the piece of information relating to at least onecall set-up request, at least one piece of information relating to anactivity level of the telephone number in the communications network,the piece of information relating to an activity level beingrepresentative of a number of requests to set-up a call to the telephonenumber received by the communication network for the given observationperiod and storing, in an entry of a first data table , referred to as atable of unallocated telephone numbers, the at least one piece ofinformation relating to an activity level of the telephone number inassociation with the telephone number.
 10. A device for processing arequest for allocating a telephone number to a user of atelecommunication network, the device being configured to implementreception of the allocation request, selecting the telephone number froma plurality of unallocated telephone numbers and sending a responsecomprising the selected telephone number, wherein the selectioncomprises: obtaining an unallocated telephone number and at least onepiece of information relating to an activity level of the telephonenumber in the communication network from a first data table, referred toas a table of unallocated telephone numbers, the table comprisingentries, one entry associating a telephone number previously allocatedto users until a given date, referred to as a suspension date, with apiece of information relating to an activity level of the telephonenumber during a given observation period, subsequent to the suspensiondate; deciding to select the telephone number for the user according tothe piece of information and at least one selection criterion; andrepeating the obtaining and selection of another telephone number, aslong as it has been decided not to select the telephone number.
 11. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium configured to store adata table, referred to as a table of unallocated telephone numbers of atelecommunication network, the table comprising entries, wherein anentry in the table associates with an unallocated telephone number atleast one piece of information relating to an activity level of thetelephone number in the communication network during a given timeperiod, referred to as an observation period.
 12. A communicationequipment in a telecommunication network, wherein the communicationequipment comprises the device for managing at least one telephonenumber not allocated to a user of the network according to claim
 9. 13.An item of communication equipment in a communication network, whereinthe item comprises the device for processing a request to assign atelephone number to a user of the network according to claim
 10. 14. Asystem for managing a telephone number to a user in a communicationnetwork, wherein the system comprises: a first device for processing arequest for allocating a telephone number to a user of the networkaccording to claim 10; a second device for managing at least onetelephone number unallocated to a user of the network the telephonenumber being previously allocated to a user of the communication networkuntil a given date, known as suspension date, wherein the second deviceis configured to implement at the level of an item of equipment of thenetwork: obtaining a piece of information relating to at least one callset-up request received by the communication network to the telephonenumber during a given period of time, referred to as an observationperiod, subsequent to the suspension date; updating, at least accordingto the piece of information relating to at least one call set-uprequest, at least one piece of information relating to an activity levelof the telephone number in the communications network, the piece ofinformation relating to an activity level being representative of anumber of requests to set-up a call to the telephone number received bythe communication network for the given observation period and storing,in an entry of a first data table, referred to as a table of unallocatedtelephone numbers, the at least one piece of information relating to anactivity level of the telephone number in association with the telephonenumber; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium configuredto store the data table of the unallocated telephone numbers, the tablecomprising entries, wherein an entry in the table associates with anunallocated telephone number at least one piece of information relatingto the activity level of the telephone number in the communicationnetwork during the observation period.
 15. A processing circuitcomprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing program codeinstructions of a computer program for implementingthe method accordingto claim 1, when the computer program is executed bythe processor.